There is a fresh agenda afoot to begin diagnosing children as young as six years of age with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and drugging them with dangerous medications like Ritalin (methylphenidate), Adderall (dextroamphetamine and amphetamine), and Prozac (fluoxetine). And the mainstream media seems to be working lockstep with medical journals to create the illusion that doing this is vital for childhood health and development.

A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, and promoted by ABC News, for instance, suggests that the earlier a child is diagnosed with ADHD, the more likely he or she is to get better grades in school. Waiting too long to get diagnosed, in other words, can cause children with ADHD to have more educational troubles, say the authors.

Based on data collected from 12,000 Icelandic children who began taking ADHD medication between fourth and seventh grades, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York determined that children who began taking ADHD medications in fourth grade experienced an overall drop in their math scores of 0.3 percent, compared to a nine percent drop among children who began taking ADHD medication around sixth or seventh grade.

All the children in the study, however, experienced some decrease in academic performance. But those who began getting drugged the earliest had slightly less of a decrease, which led study authors to the wild conclusion that children need to be diagnosed with ADHD and drugged as early as possible to improve their overall condition.

ADHD drugs are dangerous, addictive, and highly unnecessary

This “get ’em while they’re young” approach is a great tactic for the pharmaceutical industry to maintain both record-level profits and a steady stream of fresh customers. But the effects of these drugs on the children taking them, millions of whom do not even have ADHD, will be disastrous. Amphetamines like those found in the popular ADHD drug Adderall, for instance, are highly addictive and potentially very destructive.

Heart attack, stroke, elevated blood pressure, and even sudden death are among the extreme side effects associated with Adderall (http://www.naturalnews.com/029584_Adderall_side_effects.html[2]). And both Prozac and Ritalin can cause children to incur depression, anxiety, and tendencies towards killing others or themselves.

The very legitimacy of ADHD as a disease has also been called into question by many who see its “symptoms” as nothing more than natural variations in human personality and behavior. Particularly, over-diagnosed are young boys, whose high energy levels are often conveniently labeled as ADHD in order to forcibly conform them into the government education system.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Oftentimes, legitimate behavioral and developmental problems in children are a result of environmental and dietary toxins. Processed sugars like high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), artificial flavorings and colorings, preservatives, and other unhealthy foods can provoke behavior problems, as can vaccines. Many parents who have restructured their ADHD-diagnosed child’s diet have witnessed an incredible, natural reversal of symptoms commonly associated with ADHD.